Finally found myself in Akron with time, so I dragged The Fambly into Guitar Department. Now THIS is more like it. Every inch of wall has something playable hanging therefrom. Nearly every inch of floor has drums, amps, cabs, amps on top of cabs, cabs on top of OTHER cabs. I had only been in the store about ninety seconds when I overhear a guy nearly buying a Kay Speed Demon guitar. Now just having one to look at is pretty great, but this one was also for sale. You could, given a couple hundred, just walk out with that baby and be cutting a demo before dark. (They really respect the mongrel, here, by which I mean the instrument as well as the customer. Dan "Loving Ohio From a Distance" Auerbach used to wander around the shop hoping to get noticed... I mean "shopping." Yeah, shopping. He's one of those snobbishly anti-snobbery guitar guys, who fetishize the crappy guitars their blues gods played, while playing them through a quarter million dollars worth of effects and electronics.)
But enough about success.
Found a vintage Fender volume/tone pedal. Well, that just had to go home with me. Bought a couple other things. Time was, there was a great shop like this every ten blocks or so in every city in Uh Murh Cuh Now? "Bro! Just buy that on-line." Right. Buy a guitar, without playing it? Buy an amp, without hearing it? Good luck with that plan, Mr. Malmsteen.
They do consignments, too, which is a great way to either upgrade or downgrade your studio, bandroom or man cavity. These guys deserve your business. They sure helped me, and I'll bet they will help you.
While we were there, I overheard a drummer, tired from being ridiculed by other musicians, decide to change instruments. Guy goes up to the sales counter and says, "I'll take that red trumpet over there, and that accordion."
After a second, the store clerk says ,"OK, you can have the fire extinguisher but the radiator stays." read more